Help:Creating Articles
Because of the nature of a wiki and the ever evolving nature of Legacy of Chaos, there will always be articles needed on newer content, even if the topic is obscure or limited, that do not exist yet. However, if the topic is major or well known anticipate that it already exists. Duplicating information can be very confusing to readers, so please ensure an article does not already exist before making a new one. Checking for existing articles There are a number of ways to find an existing article. *Going directly to its address. The wikia system uses a fairly simply navigation method. For example by visiting - http://legacyofchaos.wikia.com/wiki/Abrani you will find yourself on the page for the Abrani subspecies. *Using the search box. When searching, use the fewest number of search terms possible. If you are uncertain of the spelling, try several alternatives. Even if you are positive you are spelling the name of the article correctly, typos happen. It is possible the previous editor got the spelling wrong, so it may be under the wrong title. *Looking in the appropriate . For example, if you are trying to find an article about a small independant nation, look in the Category:Nations to see if you can find the article there. *Looking for links from a similar subject. For example, you would expect the Magic article to provide a link to the Arcane Magic article, since one is a more specialized version of the other. It should therefore stand to reason that other specilaizations of Magic might also be linked on the Magic article, though there is no guarantee. Improving Access If you were looking to create an article on a particular topic, but found the article in an unexpected place, you should consider whether it is in the appropriate place. Incorrect names Sometimes the creator of the article made a mistake and just typed in its name wrong. In this case, you should move the article to the correct name, citing a source for the correct name if possible, and leaving a redirect behind. Often, it is better to start a discussion on the article's talk page if you cannot determine beyond doubt that the article is named incorrectly. Unexpected names Is the article under a name that, although correct, is not widely used, where a more widely-used name is available? If this is the case, then you should consider moving the article. Be sure to check convention where possible, because an article might be named in a specific way for a reason that you are unaware of, and moving it would worsen the situation. In all but the most clear of cases, it is worth starting a discussion on the article's talk page and trying to reach a consensus about moving the article. Provide specific examples if possible. Wrong category Did you have trouble finding the article because it is in the wrong category, or a category that is not specific enough? Sometimes editors can change information that would effectively recategorize an article, and then forget to implement this change. For example, if a person has been listed as an Elf, but is actually a Ghost Elf, the text in the article should be changed, and the category should also be changed. Although it is not "wrong" to put the article in Category:Elves, it would be better in Category:Ghost Elves, since this is more specific. Improving redirects There are often cases where the article you are looking for cannot be found because the expected or natural spelling is not the actual spelling of the article. For example, the Fonté article is often typed as "Fonte" on a US- or UK-English keyboard, because the 'é' character is not present. In this case, consider creating a redirect or two. There is no need to create redirects for every possible spelling or misspelling, but cover the obvious ones. Articles vs. Sections Consider whether your topic merits its own article or whether it can be incorporated into an existing article as a new section. You should consider: *Whether you can write more than three paragraphs about the topic. *Whether the topic is distinct from every other topic with its own article. *Whether the topic is within the Scope of the Project. If you can wholeheartedly answer "yes" to all of the above points, it is probably, but not definitely, worth its own article. Similarly, some topics for which the above points all answer "yes" still don't need to be created as articles. It is quite often a judgement call. One deciding factor might be whether you want the subject of the article to appear in its own category. For example, if you are writing an article about a player character made adventuring company, you might decide to dedicate a section to listing each of its members. However, the Ghost Elf member you wrote about would not appear in Category:Ghost Elves because she does not have her own article. If it is desirable to have her appear in this category, a separate article is needed, but consider the amount of information needed in order to make an article practical (see above). Creating the Article If you are satisfied the topic needs its own article, go ahead and create it. The next important step is to decide what type of article you're creating. Because of our desire to maintain consistent article style, make sure that you visit the appropriate help article for the type of article you're writing. You can find a list of all our help articles in Category:Help. Category: Help